The 'Some Kind of Nothingness' hitmakers are preparing for the release of 'National Treasures' - a compilation of the 38 singles they have released over the last 21 years - and frontman James Dean Bradfield says the idea for the record came because they don't think guitar bands care about the charts anymore.

He said: "You kind of get a sense that guitar bands don't really have hit singles any more. Because the Top 40 is so full of pop records now. We just want to show what the era was before this era. We want to be positive about it and say: this is what happened in the Indie Wars."

As well as the album, the group a performing a special one-off show at London's The O2 in December, when they will play all the singles in their entirety and James has promised fans an epic performance.

He told XFM: "This is going to be the only time we play every major single we've ever released. We'll be playing chronologically, mostly. We'll be playing for about four hours!"

As well as classic singles, 'National Treasures' includes a new track by the Welsh trio, a cover of The The's track 'This Is The Day' and James admits he has been a fan of the song since its original release in 1983.

He recalled: "I remember being really impressed by this song. There was a sense that Matt Johnson was rewriting the rules as to what a songwriter could do. It was so basic, but there was something so personal in the song."